contact: [email protected]
We are accepting manuscripts for publication in 2026.
Also: executive ghost writing, editing, publishing support.

welcome to the

press of light + space

publisher – austin, texas

New Titles in 2026 and 2025

words, languaged and innovation, john oakley mcelhenney, short stoires, hyperfiction

Words, Language and Innovation
short stories

I write. I breathe. I write some more. And today, I sleep. Rest is really important as you age. Your mind is the most complex part of the human body, we’ve got to take good care of it, inside and outside. What we feed it intellectually, nutritionally, and spiritually. If you’re merely tiktoking your days away, well, there’s not going to be much left behind for you to enjoy, resolve, swim in the memories of yesterday. Just, don’t die. Ever.

I write to make sure my ideas never die. Will they be read by anyone? No telling. I’m doing what I can to influence that. In the library of congress, thiry years from now, I want another 30 books to be in my canon. Loosen the words, we’ve got another book to put in the library I’m spinning out for you as fast as I can.

Read more at Words, Language and Innovation on Amazon.

interleaved letter sequences - short short stories by john oakley mcelhenney

Interleaved Letter Sequences – short short stories

Letter by letter, these stories were born over several years. The process unlocked larger projects as well. In many ways, my redefining of hyperfiction comes from these first stories, tipping me back toward creative writing and not just writing.

It was a simple gesture on my part, beginning to write short stories. Remind my magical mind how it loves to play with creative language more than marketing language. AI was new to the picture and I was working for a large data center owner, the one’s heating up the planet right now, and my mind was uncorked or something by the prompt > desired result > generate process.

Read more about Interleaved Letter Sequences on Amazon

 

the happy cashier

The Happy Cashier – finding joy, enlightenment, and satisfaction in retail

To tell you that I intentionally returned to becoming a cashier at a grocery store in my later years would be a lie, as well as a tragi-comedy that changed my life. Here’s my story.

Exploring mindfulness in the retail environment. The Happy Cashier is an enlightened journey of a humble and humorous man navigating changing times.

A practical roadmap for surviving a low-wage retail job.

See more about The Happy Cashier on Amazon

 

poet of desire, poetry by john oakley mcelhenney

poet of desire – love poems

i am the poet of desire
reaching out to you from this page
praying for connection
love
attention
a hand to hold during the hard times
and the happy moments
i wait
here

See more from poet of desire on Amazon

wh@t? - poems by john oakley mcelhenney

wh@t? – poetry

Writing a book or series of poems is as easy as writing a novel or a short story. The mechanics are all that divide the genre. Here’s how it works with poems. Take these in this collection, for example. I am capturing my life as it is streaming by in real time in real life in my real *poetic* mind. I get a mood. Catch a sound or image. Tappity tap tap on a keyboard like I am doing now, and on we go. The poetic part is in the leaving out. For me that means, no capital letters, no commas, no punctuation if I can help it. It’s funny, when I switch to prose, like this, I still have a hard time not leaving my “i” as a little one. The little eye. The little me. A little poet with some big ideas.

And then you slice and dice.  See more about wh@t? on Amazon

waltwhitman.ai – a celebratory sequence of poems – no ai involved

When a reader wakes up, I too wake up. When a message arrives from someone touched with pain or fire or poetry, I am revived.

Walt is not so much in me, around me, or inspiring me, but in the private cloud

of my large living language model his love and exuberance have informed me ever since I discovered his discovery of *: * as a gateway.

See more about waltwhitman.ai on Amazon

 

 

CR8V.AI
The creative response to generative AI.

Let’s RE: THINK This. If you are a creative artist you probably make most of your money doing other things, besides your art. Certainly, if you are a poet, you are doing it for the thrill of calling yourself a poet, right? I would guess poetry sales are about as trendy as vintage software manuals.

Creatives Are Losing the Digital Transformation.

See more about CR8V.AI on Amazon.

 

 

The Little Red Book of Mindfulness (paperback)

You are home. Your mind is jumping with anxiety and exhaustion. What do you do?

I’m going to attempt to shed light on a mindfulness practice that has been many years in the orchestration. I hope you find in this “little” book a few tidbits to help you soothe that monkey mind of yours.

See more about The Little Red Book of Mindfulness on Amazon.

 

 

 

Introducing John Oakley McElhenney, an accomplished author and blogger. He is the creator of the popular blog, “The Whole Parent,” where he shares his personal experiences and insights on the challenges and rewards of raising children alone. His writing is raw, honest, and real. He provides support and resources for single parents and is an active speaker and advocate for single-parent families. With his unique perspective and practical advice, John Oakley McElhenney will inspire and empower you to navigate the challenges of single parenthood.

Please follow John on his Amazon Author page

Self-help and Family Topics

Poetry

the poetry of john oakley mcelhenney

Poetry with four other poets: John Herald Lee, David Jewell, Lyman Grant, and Bill Jeffers.

Other Books

Through our publishing arm, we are joining with Artistsway.ai to build a self-publishing course. We also offer executive ghost writing, editing, and publication assistance. We have two HR teams we work with, if you need those services as well.
tags: john oakley mcelhenney, the whole parent, press of light and space, publisher austin texas, poetry, self-help, single parenting, divorce, depression, mindfulness, cr8v.ai